Just To Be Clear, This Is Where I Stand…

I am a Christian. To me, what this means is that I am a Christ follower (have accepted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior) and that I believe that what The Bible says is truth. Filled with wisdom, guidance, encouragement, comfort, and hope, The Bible itself is an instruction manual for life. If the Bible says it’s wrong, to me it’s wrong. Whether it be a sin I myself am committing, or a sin someone else in the world is committing, it’s still sin if the Bible says it’s sin. Twisting the words within the Bible to meet our desires doesn’t make our desires any less sinful. Being a Christian also means I’m not the judge of someone else’s sins. God is. It means that I am called to love e.v.e.r.y.o.n.e., whether I believe in the same things they do or not. Because that’s how Jesus loved. As hard as this is sometimes, it’s what I’m striving for because God loved me deeply enough to sacrifice His only Son to die for me. He died for those who believe in Him and He died for those who don’t. He loves us all, whether or not we choose to love Him in return. I, personally, couldn’t sacrifice my child for the sins of those who hate me…but His love is beyond our understanding.

The world very much feels to me like it’s spiraling out of control right now. There’s so much anger, misunderstanding, judgement, criticism, fear, confusion…we’re at war. Tensions are high and emotion is in charge. Common sense was forsaken long ago. There’s a lot of pressure to abandon my beliefs because the secular world is supporting the idea that Christians are hateful. I just wanted to be perfectly clear that I will never abandon Christianity, regardless of what the world may say about it. I can’t speak for all Christians, but what I’d like to say from the bottom of my own heart is this:

True Christianity is a relationship, not a religion. A relationship built on, surrounded by, and infused with love. It’s discovering who God is and, through that loving relationship, learning how to share His love with the world around you. Anyone who calls God or His Word hateful, clearly doesn’t have a relationship with Him. Anyone who claims to have a relationship with Him, and is truly hateful towards others, has an immeasurable misunderstanding of The One with whom they have a relationship.

God hates sin. Therefore, I’m called to hate it as well. Especially my own. That’s the only hate that should be found in my life if I’m following the example of Christ. As countless others have said before me, being a Christian doesn’t mean that I’m perfect or that I think I’m perfect. It means I’m forgiven and called to forgive. It means I’m loved and called to love. So, as I share my life as a special needs parent with you, I’m sharing it through the lens of a Christian. I’m flawed. My life is a mess sometimes. But I stand for love. Always.